80: Are you confused about HIPs? So are we....
07-30-2006
PropertyInvesting.net team
Another dramatic U-turn – the home survey component of the HIPs will now not be compulsory. However, the pack has not been scrapped and there will be compulsory elements to the Home Information Pack – due to start June 2007. These are an energy survey of the property and searches/presale information – likely to cost in the region of £300+ per property.
There are a number of ways of interpreting this U-turn – PropertyInvesting.net does not know who to believe, hence we have itemized some scenarios:
1) The introduction of the HIPs is a phased approach with mandatory survey’s to be implemented in a few years time – possibly when enough inspectors are trained up. There has been unsubstantiated stories that the reason survey’s were not initially made mandatory was because there was concern in the government that not enough inspectors would be trained up in time to allow smooth introduction of HIPs (40% chance?)
2) The dropping of the mandatory survey is a warming up to the scrapping of the HIPs altogether – some time in the next 12 months (25% chance)
3) No mandatory survey will be introduced in future and HIPs will be introduced as they are now (25% chance)
4) HIPs will be scrapped if teething problem not ironed out within 18 months of start date in June 2007 (10% chance)
Bottom line is – now no-one knows where they stand! The people that spent a year training up at a cost of up to £10,000 will likely choose to do something different. Many large companies like Rightmove.co.uk have seen their share prices drop dramatically because a lot of their future business was expected to come from coordinating such HIPs.
And for those who wish to take the plunge and train up as inspectors – its got to be one of the highest risk ways of spending £10,000 and a year’s part-time effort. Suggest it’s better to use the cash to invest in a deposit for a buy-to-let studio!
One positive is that – indeed – energy surveys would help cut energy consumption and wastage in the
Finally, the introduction of the HIPs has a real danger of distorting the property market and leading to further housing shortages. Such regulation hardly helps the people at most need of homes, or investors and landlords alike.
Confused home owner?
